Cultural letter #14 Readjustments
Dear friends,
Before I get over the
"newness" of our travels, I thought I'd take a few minutes to try to
give you a picture of the readjustments I've faced upon returning from furlough..
For me, it has meant,
..........cooking
again. For two months we've
literally "eaten off" of others...whether restaurants while travelling (with the exception of a few snacks in the van),
other Christians in their homes, dinners at churches, or at family. I'd not cooked for 2 months. It was a nice
break for me, I'd like to add, and I enjoyed it, but everyone was ready to get
back to the familiar. So, I arrived
back, took stock of what was in the kitchen and freezer, and began to plan
meals again. I do most of my cooking
from scratch, though I'm not opposed to convenience foods at all, and do use
things like gravy mixes. (I've found that my family likes Betty Crocker--the
cookbook.) It is possible we go
"out" a lot less than many other missionaries that I've talked with
here in Poland simply because of the lack of available (good, inexpensive)
restaurants nearby and the large size of our family, but it's okay. I like to go "out" for the break,
but I've just had a 2 month "break" and can stand to be in the
kitchen for a while. :)
.........accidentally speaking
a sentence in English to someone who speaks no English...In this instance it
was amazing, considering the fact that I had just spent an hour talking with
her in Polish, but when I got in the van, to ask one last question, out it
came, in came, in "perfect" English... When I saw the quizzical look
on her face, I realized what I had done.
But that's not all..upon
first arriving back in the
.........having little shivers
of fear go through me when I got in the standard transmission van to go to the
store. This "fear" was for two
reasons...shifting, I tended to throw myself around a few times, and wondering
what "foolish" drivers I would encounter as I drove to the
store. Only those of you who've been to
Poland can understand exactly what I mean, but a couple of days ago, I was
almost hit by two different people, all in the same errand run...neither one
even remotely my fault. I couldn't help
but think of the Scripture verse, "God hasn't given us the spirit of
fear...." My adrenalin was pumping
pretty hard after the first "almost", and I was just glad to get back
home.
........getting
back into "people" counseling again. Sometimes you
can think that we have silly problems in the states. How's this? A young lady (with a small child)
was having a hard time getting over the gossip of her neighbor (elderly) woman
who apparently spread around the fact that my friend didn't get her laundry
hanging up first thing in the morning, but waited until it was "almost
dark" or "almost raining".
I laughed at the ludicrousness of the attack. I guess some people just don't have enough to
do. But, her hurt was real, and that I completely understood.(I told her I
couldn't imagine anyone caring when she does her laundry...but that's me...I'm
an American, and don't consider that any of my business.) Thankfully my friend,
who this summer, truly gotten saved, I believe, was able to understand that
some people thrive on hurting others. I
asked her to read the book of Job and discover a man who had truly suffered
some difficult things. Among other things we've dealt with so far...dealing
with a young-man-in-jail's girlfriend, a women's depression at having her
electricity turned off (and it's cold here), husband
who drinks, people without work. People
are people, and can take a lot of time when you start dealing with them.
.........going
back in the stores to the "same old stuff"...meaning that in the
states, the stores were filled with new and different things to me. There have
been times that some of you have asked us to let us know what we want you to
send us. That is wonderful and really
kind, but it really helps to see what is "out there" before I can
make a great list... When I returned to
the bigger stores (here), they looked pretty much the same as always, except
with the added "All Saint's Day candles" that they were selling by
the scores so people could put them on their relative's graves and pray for
them to get out of purgatory.
.........remembering that we
are guests here...and as such, don't always understand the way people think,
nor do we understand the "church's" control over the personal lives
of people, esp. as regarding traditions, and yet not affecting morality. It remains a mystery to me.
........making
my body get quickly into the time zone. We arrived back Sat. afternoon,
kind of late. Sunday morning Mike preached, and Monday morning, at 8, our kids
headed back to school. These days were
especially difficult as adjusting to the time change this way seems to be more difficult
than "going" west. The children's
Polish school scheduled (different daily, and each child different), combined
with doing a lot at home in English, makes the days filled...it's as if a race
is going on to see which will get here first..the end of the day or the work.
........last but not
least....unpacking and putting away all the wonderful, helpful things that we
brought back with us. This, along with
planning school and then executing it for 5 children, (home school stuff),
cooking, of course, and people counselling, has taken
most of the first 2 weeks that we've been back.
What's left to do? Well, getting the leaves raked, and garden ready for
spring planting and all the donated grass clippings taken care of...then,
planning for Christmas programs and special outreach, finish my Polish
Christmas tract and a couple of testimony booklets I'm working on ...
Thanks for letting me share
with you. I somehow doubt that my experiences are unique. I'd not be surprised
if most other missionary wives experience these same things. I've let the computer "go" for
these first two weeks we've been back, barely sitting down and reading email.
Now, if you write me, I'd be more conscientious as the rest of those
aforementioned things are more under control.
Thanks so much for praying for
us. We appreciate you.
For now and in
Becky Petersen